NBA Basketball
2018-11-09 - Indiana Pacers at Miami Heat
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball
Friday 9th November 2018 - Tip Off 8pm
British Time: 1am
Preview
A tough home loss for the Indiana Pacers has frustrated the players who believe they are better than what they showed against the Houston Rockets. They have to remain focused when they head to the Miami Heat on Friday even though revenge could be on their minds with a visit to the Rockets next up on deck.
Games against Conference rivals are going to be much more important for the Indiana Pacers though and that should mean all of the attention is on this game against the Miami Heat. The Heat may not be one of the favourites in the Eastern Conference, but they do have a roster that should be challenging for a Play Off spot in the Eastern Conference.
A win over the San Antonio Spurs underlined some of the depth the Heat feel they have on the roster as they managed that win without Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade. The latter is expected to miss out again as he is with his family following the birth of a child, but Dragic's status is much more up in the air.
There are some similarities with these teams who believe their Defensive strength makes things much easier for their Offensive talent to shine through. Both teams will want to impose themselves on the other, but Indiana may just have a slight edge on both ends of the court which makes them the surprising underdog in my opinion.
Hitting their buckets is going to be so important for Indiana because they can't really expect to compete effectively with the Miami Heat on the boards. In the last game against Houston they did miss some huge shots down the stretch which ultimately cost them the chance to win that and the focus has been on improving in those critical moments.
Miami are still looking for some consistency but they have won two in a row which should give the players some real belief to take into this game. The Heat have tended to play up to the level of opposition and they have a strong 21-10-3 record against the spread in their last thirty-four games against a team with a winning record.
However I like Indiana who I feel match up pretty well with Miami and the road team is 4-1 against the spread in the last five in this series. In fact the underdog is also 4-1 against the spread between Indiana and Miami, while the Pacers have been very good at bouncing back from losses with a 40-19 record against the spread in that situation.
The Pacers are also 8-3 against the spread in their last eleven road games and I will take the small advantage in favour of the road team here.
Prediction
Take the points with the road underdog.
The Pick :
Miami Heat 101-104 Indiana Pacers
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll back Indiana Pacers + 1.5 Points @ 1.91 with BetFred
